Share this article
Blockchain Social Network Minds Is Migrating to Ethereum for Launch
Blockchain-based social network Minds is moving its platform to the ethereum mainnet, the startup announced Monday.
By Nikhilesh De
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 8:16 a.m. Published Aug 13, 2018, 12:00 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Blockchain-based social network Minds is migrating its platform to the ethereum network, the startup announced Monday.
After roughly four-and-a-half months on its Rinkeby test network, the startup will be moving to ethereum for its full live launch. The firm claims to provide a censorship-resistant, accessible social network for users, especially those in potentially authoritarian nations, according to a press release.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
The platform already sees around 500,000 daily page views, CEO Bill Ottman told CoinDesk. The platform also claims roughly 1.25 million registered users, about 75 percent of whom have already earned test tokens. These users will be eligible to receive the platform's live token via a free "airdrop" distribution as a result.
"We expect an overall increase in transactions, both on-chain and off-chain, due to the activation of token withdrawals, purchases and rewards," he said.
Ottman continued to say that the team had engineered a "hybrid on-chain, off-chain model" to ensure that the system can handle the volume Minds is seeing and to provide a simple user experience for crypto newcomers.
The on-chain and off-chain model will also help the platform handle large user volumes without congesting the ethereum network, according to the company.
Users can pay tokens to ensure a greater number of people see their posts, or earn tokens by interacting with content. Users can also use it to pay creators directly and subscribe to premium content.
Ottman said the use case has been popular on the testnet, predicting that the decentralized platform will become one of the more popular apps on ethereum as a result of the launch.
The CEO anticipated few issues ahead, saying "the only disruption will be a 24-hour pause in [peer-to-peer] transfers between users via our Wire and Boost features ... this is necessary only to ensure the airdrop to our beta users accurately reflects their prior token balance of earnings thus far."
Elizabeth McCauley, blockchain business developer and Minds adviser, said in the release:
"When governments crack down on free speech and team with centralized social media surveillance companies, [Minds] provides a refuge for individuals seeking an avenue for global interaction and idea exchange."
Ether on a keyboard image via CoinDesk
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Bitcoin hash rate slides during U.S. winter storm while markets shrug off mining disruption
The temporary loss of mining power underscores academic concerns that geographic and pool concentration can magnify infrastructure failures, though markets showed little immediate reaction.
What to know:
- Bitcoin’s hashrate fell about 10 percent during a U.S. winter storm, underscoring how local power disruptions can strain the network’s capacity to process transactions.
- Researchers have shown that concentrated mining, as seen in a 2021 regional outage in China, can lead to slower block times, higher fees and broader market disruptions.
- With a few large pools now controlling most of Bitcoin’s hashrate, the network is increasingly vulnerable to localized infrastructure failures, even as the price of BTC remains largely unaffected in the short term.
Top Stories
